Bobcats hope to keep Express from defending AJHL title

The Atlantic Junior Hockey League’s President Cup
playoffs have come down to the final two teams. The defending
champion Walpole Express will face off against the league’s
third seed New York
Bobcats.

Head coach Mark Kumpel’s Express lost just five of
43 league games this season on their way to the regular season
championship. In the playoffs, Walpole eliminated the New Jersey
Rockets in a two-game sweep followed by another sweep of the Boston
Bulldogs. Along the way, the Express have scored 21 goals and given
up just seven.

“We’ve been scoring by committee,” said
Kumpel when asked about his team’s offense. “Dylan Fox
and Jake Brightbill have been very good but we’ve been doing
it mostly with team play. Our top guys are getting checked while
the others are picking up points. Colby Emma (Hope, R.I.) has
picked up some huge points for us in the playoffs. The fourth line
was big against the Bulldogs. I like to go with five-man units. I
have confidence in everyone.”

Kumpel was quick to praise his goaltenders as
well.

“Kyle Shapiro and Tommy Conlin (Norwood, Mass.) have
been great for us,” he said.

Shapiro led the league with a 1.48 goals against average.
Conlin finished third in theAJHLin that same
statistical category at 1.61.

When asked what he expects to see from New York, Kumpel
answered, “Both teams are very deep. We each play a puck
possession game and that will be the key. Neither team plays dump
and chase hockey. It will be exciting to watch.”

The Bobcats finished third in the regular season standings
with a 31-12-1 record. In the AJ playoffs, they dismissed the
Hartford Jr. Wolfpack in three games then upset the Northern
Cyclones in a thrilling three-game series.

Asked about his club’s performance in the playoffs,
head coach Ed Galiani said, “Those series were wars. They
were very physical, high-tempo series. We’re a young team and
it took time to get adjusted.”

The ‘Cats enter the finals versus the Express with
two of the top three scorers in the league. William Pascalli won
the regular season scoring title with 17 goals and 55 assists,
totaling 72 points, while Tommy Telesca posted 25 goals and 40
assists for 65 points. They have played very well in the postseason
but others have contributed to the team’s success.

“You rely on your top players but in the playoffs
but the other teams focus on checking them and stopping
them.” said Galiani. “Other players have stepped up and
played really well so far. Christopher Wallace, who is a 1994 birth
date, scored four goals against Northern. Joe Gilhooly and Spiros
Markopoulos are other players who have really stepped up their
games for us. Even on defense, we go with six every game and
they’ve been a very strong, competitive corp. All of the
players have pulled together to play big and
contribute.”

In goal, David Lynch brought a .932 save percentage into
the playoffs and has remained consistent by posting a .930
percentage while manning the crease for all six postseason
games.

“David has been huge,” Galiani responded when
asked about his 18-year-old netminder. “Without him, getting
to the finals would have been a lot more difficult. He’s a
big, skilled goaltender and he always makes the big saves when we
need them.”

Asked what type of challenge Walpole will present, the
‘Cats coach said, “They are a highly skilled and highly
competitive team. They’ll be looking to repeat as champions.
We split the season series with them but we’re definitely the
underdog going in and all three games will be played in Walpole,
which will be tough but you have to win two games to win the
championship and that’s what we’re going to try to
do.”

Walpoletook Game 1 by a score of 2-1 on
Saturday. Game 2 will be on Sunday at 11:30am. If necessary, Game 3
will take place on Monday afternoon. All of the contests will be
played at the Iorio Arena in Walpole, Mass.